Trump's FDIC nominee Clinger withdraws from consideration

Jim Clinger asked the White House to withdraw his nomination to become chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the latest setback in the administration's efforts to fill key financial posts. Clinger cited family issues.

President Donald Trump nominated him to the position last month, elevating the veteran House aide to one of the country’s most powerful bank-regulatory jobs.

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Clinger said he was “deeply grateful” to Trump for selecting him.

“It is therefore with a sense of regret that I have asked the White House to withdraw my nomination,” he said in a statement. “I did so after concluding that the family-related obligations that prompted me to leave government service earlier this year — which have grown more challenging in the interim — are incompatible with the demands of leading an important federal agency like the FDIC."

The son of former Rep. William Clinger (R-Pa.), Clinger spent two decades on staff at the House Financial Services Committee, serving as its chief counsel. He left the committee in March.

The FDIC plays a crucial role overseeing thousands of the nation's banks and is responsible for insuring deposits. Its powers expanded in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

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Republicans in Congress have been working to pare back the agency's authority, most notably its ability to wind down failing financial giants outside of the bankruptcy process, a power it was given in the landmark 2010 Dodd-Frank law.

Clinger would have taken over leadership of the agency from Chairman Martin Gruenberg, whose term will end in November. Trump has yet to fill a number of other important posts at financial regulatory agencies, including the Federal Reserve and Treasury.

"It's unfortunate," House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling said of Clinger's decision. "He would’ve made a great FDIC chair, but he’s not the only person who can be a great FDIC chair."

White House spokeswoman Natalie Strom confirmed the information in Clinger's statement but declined to comment further.

Travis Norton, a Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck policy adviser who served with Clinger on the House Financial Services Committee, said the family issues that precipitated Clinger stepping down from the panel earlier this year became more difficult in the last few weeks.

“Jim was eager to continue his service and was honored by the president’s nomination to chair the FDIC,” Norton said. But he “felt he could not devote himself fully to both his family and the FDIC.”

“Still, I wouldn’t bet against Jim’s return to government in the future if circumstances allow him to give 100 percent."